We’re so happy that you’re here in Hungary and you’ll be performing at the Jazzpiknik in just a couple of hours. Usually, how do you hype yourself up and get in the mood before stepping on stage?
Well, I was very lucky to have a soundcheck today, so I already know what I’m walking into, which looks really fun. It looks very comfortable, and I can only imagine what it looks like at night and full of people. But the sound is great and I don’t really have to hype myself up.
I love what I do. I love singing. I love performing.
I just enter the stage and and as long as I do my job, I think the public usually has a nice time.
What’s one thing that you just can’t leave at home when you’re travelling on tour?
Well, the glasses, always.
I was hoping you would say that!
I will say that that is a 100% reality, I even carry it in my carry on. There’s no way I put it in the underseat bag. My certain perfume, I like to make sure I have it. Usually, these days, I have a dog and I bring my dog. Yet we’re flying so many different places in the next three weeks, I don’t have Brody here this time, but he would have loved this hotel.
I imagine it must be a bit hard for you to decide on the setlist because you have so many songs and so many hits. Besides the hits, do you have a favorite deep cut that you just can’t leave off the setlist?
I try to put on as many singles as I can, the ones that are 100% drilled into people’s heads.
I don’t do a set without the important ones, I don’t believe in that.
I think that when people come to see you, at least somebody like me… Somebody like Beyoncé, that, you know, focuses just on the album she’s doing, then that makes sense. For me, I put out new music for me, not necessarily that I want my audience to listen to the whole album live. These days, I don’t do that. I really find my audience likes when I sing some new songs, if there’s an album, and then really give them nostalgia because that’s what they really want. But they love the new songs and then they become interested in wanting to stream that.
You released a deluxe version of your latest album, „Our Songs”, and just a few weeks ago. What did you enjoy the most about the creation process of this record?
Well, I will say the „Our Songs” project wasn’t something I said, oh, that’s a great idea, I’d love to do that.
It’s a bit different because it’s a cover album of German songs.
It was a frightening project! I was like, there is no way I’m doing that. That’s career suicide. They continued to say, no, it’s going to be great, and then they showed me a song that was the first single. I didn’t mean it to be the first single, but it was called „Best Days”. In German, it was called „Tage wie diese” and it was done by a band that is punk-rock. You never would have thought that the song he gave me was the same song and from that band. And so I said, ha, it is possible. Well, now I’m intrigued. So it was really trying to find the songs.
Because I am a writer, I don’t write first with words – when I’m a songwriter, I write with melody first, then it becomes words.
What I decided to do with this album was listen to the songs and find music that felt like a song. Do I know what it means? No. But the melody and from the verse to the chorus, does it feel like it resonates as a song? I started that way, then I went to, what does it say? You know, like, give me a bullet point on what the song says. Do I like it? Do I feel connected? And then I had to translate. For some of them, we realized we couldn’t get the rights because there’s too many writers on the original song. I ended up trying to just find songs that were one artist, or we could get the approval of the song and all these wonderful songs came out of this project, including going on tour with Peter Maffay and and having a duet with one of the biggest rock stars in Germany. Like, I didn’t plan it. I thought he was just wanting me to translate his song. And I was like, this is great, great… Well, let’s sing it together. And I was like, oh, wow. Then he said, I want to sing it in English, and I’m like, okay, this is too much. This is too much! Like, I don’t even know what to do. So it planned itself out, and though it was difficult, I realized that each time I step forward into the unknown, it ended up being better and better.
Sometimes, what you don’t really feel comfortable with can be wonderful if you give it time.
It’s a great album.
I really love it. I feel like each song is mine.
Yeah, they are totally different from the from the original ones.
Right? They’re my songs now. And it’s so weird because I was on tour with Johannes, as well, who did „Now or Never” and I’m like, it really is my song now. Like, I’m sorry because I love it in English. He’s like, it’s this whole different song in English. But yeah, it’s a great album. I’m excited to do it next year. I decided to throw new songs in there and
enjoy the positivity of that album because it’s purely positive.
Finally, is there a message that you would like to share with your Hungarian fans?
Well, it’s beautiful to be back. It’s really wonderful to be back.
And actually, during the Olympics right now, being at a hotel, I’m getting a lot of the Hungarian feed of all of you playing against other people. I’m fully getting an idea of your teams and the fencing team and the swimming team. Silver, I thought it was going to be gold. I was rooting for you, I screamed and then I don’t even know what happened. The French guy, I felt like he had one extra foot that came out of nowhere and paddled and then he went to gold. I don’t know what happened. But yeah, it’s been exciting because, you know, the territory you’re in, they focus on their country, and I was like, oh my God, this is so great. You guys were great at fencing. It’s so much, you know
it’s really been lovely to be here and and have that opportunity, but also be in a territory I’ve never been at here in Hungary, like I’ve never been to this section.
It feels very different because the city of Budapest is different. This feels like I came to the sand, you know, like I’m here on riverbanks, you know, darling, give me a cigarette. It’s really lovely here.
